Ron Wyden holds the Senate seat once held by his mentor, the late Wayne Morse--who, ironically, was the last Democratic Senator from Oregon before Wyden's election. He was elected in a special election in January 1996, following the resignation of Bob Packwood, the man who defeated Morse. Wyden defeated the state senate president, Gordon Smith, who has since been elected to Oregon's other senate seat. In the Senate, Wyden serves on the following Committees: Finance; Intelligence; Energy and Natural Resources, Budget and the Special Committee on Aging. He was elected to a full term in 1998. In 2004, he was elected to another full term, receiving 64% of the vote compared to 31% for his main opponent, Republican Al King.